The Dark Mark Changes You
by PotterheadBookworm42
Summary: Sixth year from Draco's POV...with a Dramione twist. My first fanfic! Please read and review! Rated T for romance and mild violence in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is my first fanfic and I'm open to constructive criticism!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

Chapter 1: The Task

"Draco," Narcissa Malfoy called up the stairs. "Someone's here to see you."

Heaving a great sigh, Draco closed his book and began climbing down the stairs toward his mother's voice. Now that he thought about it, she had sounded a bit scared, but Draco ignored this; Mother seemed more tense ever since his father had been arrested and sent to Azkaban, anyway.

Draco stepped off the last carpeted stair and walked into the drawing room. Severus Snape and Narcissa Malfoy were standing in front of the fireplace looking more grim than ever.

"What's wrong?" Draco asked, noticing their solemn expressions.

"He wishes to see you," Snape said simply.

"Who?"

"Him."

Draco felt a knot grow in his throat. He swallowed. "He wants to see me? Why?"

"We shall find out soon enough," Snape said. "He is at my house right now. He wishes for you to come and see him." Snape took a pinch of Floo Powder from the ornate emerald box on the mantel. "Come." Snape threw the powder into the flames and shouted, "Spinner's End!" Then, he vanished. Draco and Narcissa followed suit.

"Spinner's End!" Draco shouted. Usually, he was never unnerved by Floo travel, but this time, the circumstances were different. Much different.

In a matter of seconds, Draco stepped out onto a ragged, moth-eaten carpet in Snape's sitting room. Snape was standing in the doorway to the kitchen. A few moments later, Narcissa stepped out of the fireplace.

"He is in the study," Snape said quietly, waving his hand in the direction of the room. Draco and Narcissa walked slowly toward and into the study.

The study was occupied by Wormtail and large, black armchair that was facing the wall. Draco assumed that the Dark Lord was sitting in this chair. His suspicions were soon confirmed.

"Draco...," said a high, cold voice from the chair. "So nice to see you." Draco, noting that the Dark Lord had not actually seen him, said nothing. "I am sorry to hear about your father," the Dark Lord continued. "But...he did fail me." Draco still said nothing. "Now, I require something of you...well, two things. One, you must become a Death Eater."

"What for?" Draco blurted out, extremely curious. Seeing his mother's frightened expression, Draco abruptly stopped talking.

The Dark Lord laughed. "Oh, Draco, because...I need you to do something for me."

"What?" Draco asked, willing himself to stop asking questions.

"I need you to find a way to let your soon-to-be fellow Death Eaters into Hogwarts School."

"Why?" Draco asked again.

"So they can assist you with the second part of your task," the Dark Lord replied. "To kill Albus Dumbledore."

Draco's heart stopped. He had to kill somebody? Dumbledore? Sure, he didn't like the headmaster, but he would never have dreamed of killing him. he had always assumed one of the other Death Eaters would do that.

"Uh...," Draco hesitated.

"Draco," sneered a voice in his ear. "Don't you want to help the Dark Lord? Don't you want to get rid of the muggle scum?" It was his Aunt Bellatrix. She had just entered the room.

"Yes, but..."

"Scared, Draco?" Bellatrix sneered. "Just like your dear Uncle Sirius?"

Draco clenched his fists. "He wasn't my uncle."

Bellatrix continued taunting. "Is Baby Drakey not ready for the big man's work?"

"Alright!" Draco exclaimed, bursting with anger and annoyance. "I'll do it!" Gosh, he really loathed Bellatrix.

"Good," said the Dark Lord from his chair. "Bellatrix, will you do the honors?"

"Of course, My Lord," Bellatrix gushed. She pulled back Draco's left sleeve. Then, she pulled out her wand and muttered a strange incantation.

After a flash of green light, Draco looked down at his arm. On it was a skull and a snake crawling through it branded onto his arm in a deep black. Draco looked up at Bellatrix's proud expression and his mother's tear-stained face. Then, the thought struck him. He was a Death Eater now.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Next Chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

Chapter 2: The Plan

Shakily, Draco and his mother left Spinner's End. Draco couldn't believe what had happened. Him? A Death Eater? It was a strange thought. Though, surprisingly, Draco didn't feel scared, or sad. In fact, he felt proud. He would show Aunt Bellatrix; Draco Malfoy was not about to let his aunt have another reason to tease and taunt him. And maybe Lucius would be proud of him after he completed his task as well.

Draco followed his mother upstairs. Her room came before Draco's on the second floor, and when she reached it, she lunged for the door and closed it rather roughly behind her. Within seconds, Draco heard muffled sobs coming from behind the closed door.

Draco honestly felt sorry for his mother. First she had to deal with Lucius's arrest, and now this. Draco feared all this would be too much for his mother to handle.

Though Draco would admit it to few, he truly did love his mother. She was the only one he knew who actually loved him and cared about him, unlike his father and all his friends. Draco had always had the feeling that his father only tolerated him because he needed an heir.

He sighed. He wasn't sure that he would be able to deal with the task himself. How was he supposed figure out how to let the Death Eaters into the castle and kill Dumbledore? Draco sighed again. He needed a plan.

He headed downstairs to his father's massive study, which also housed his collection of Dark books. Draco thought these books would be a good place to start.

After cautiously opening the door to the study-it had been in Draco's experience that his father had set wards against intruders- Draco pulled a few books off of the large bookcase that took up half of the room. He then settled himself into one of the four green and black armchairs that were in the room.

Draco flipped solemnly through the books. They were so horrible! His father had five books just on ways to torture Muggles!

After an hour of browsing through his father's library, Draco still hadn't discovered a way to kill Dumbledore. Desperate, Draco began rummaging through his father's writing desk. Five minutes later, Draco pulled a large black book from one of the drawers in the desk. It was titled: The Wizard's Guide to Dark Objects: London Edition

Eagerly, Draco opened the book. After searching through the index, he found just what he needed:

"...This cursed necklace is extremely dangerous. At the slightest touch, the victim will either be sent into a coma-like state, or will be killed. Can be bought at Borgin and Burkes in Knockturn Alley..."

Draco felt immensely relieved. All he has to do was buy the necklace from Borgin in his next trip to Diagon Alley, then get someone to give the necklace to Dumbledore. Then-presto!-dead Dumbledore.

But then Draco felt a sinking sensation in his stomach as he realized that there was more to do. He still had to figure out a way to get the Death Eaters into Hogwarts.

But how? All the secret passages out of the castle would be blocked this year; security was being tightened so much. He couldn't even get them in through the Shrieking Shack, because he knew that all the teachers knew about that passage.

Draco covered his face with his hands. He had to figure out how to do this. He had to get it right. Then, he could prove to his father that he was more than his heir. He was his son.

Draco sat in the armchair for half an hour, staring at the open page of the book. The words became blurry to Draco as he stared at them. FInally, Draco blinked, causing the words to come into focus again. He stared at the page again, reading the paragraph about the cursed necklace again.

"Can be bought at Borgin and Burkes..."

Suddenly Draco's head snapped up. He had just remembered something. Hadn't Montague left Hogwarts the previous year without anyone noticing? Hadn't he said he had reached Borgin and Burkes? Through...

"The Vanishing Cabinet!" Draco exclaimed aloud. He knew just what he had to do now. There was a Vanishing Cabinet in Borgin and Burkes, and one at Hogwarts. And if Montague had managed to get to Borgin and Burkes from the one in Hogwarts, that meant the Death Eaters could get from the one in Borgin and Burkes and into Hogwarts.

Of course, Draco knew it wouldn't be as simple as that. Montague had not actually been able to enter Borgin and Burkes from the Cabinet because it was broken. To get the Death Eaters into Hogwarts, he would have to fix the Cabinet. And he had no idea how to do that.

Well, thought Draco proudly, I'll figure it out.

Quite pleased with himself, Draco went to the kitchen to celebrate with a bag of sweets. There, he found his mother, sitting at the kitchen table, her hands wrapped around a cup of tea.

"Draco," she whispered. "I want you to be careful."Her cheeks were still stained with tears.

"Oh, Mother, don't worry about it. I have a plan." Draco reassured his mother casually.

Narcissa looked skeptical. "Are you sure?"

Yes, Mother," Draco replied calmly. "Don't worry; I'll be fine."

His mother looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "I'm just so scared," she said quietly. "I don't want you to die."

Draco hurried over to his mother and gave her a hug. "Please don't cry, Mother. I'll be fine. Besides, Severus will be there in case I get in trouble."

Something clicked in Narcissa's eyes. "Yes, Severus will be there, won't he?" Draco nodded. "Excuse me Draco," his mother said in a breathy voice. "I have to go see something." She left the kitchen in a hurry.

Draco suddenly stiffened. He hoped she hadn't gone to ask Severus to help him! He had only told his mother that Severus was going to be there to make her feel better. He wouldn't be able to stand it if Severus was constantly swooping over him, trying to help. He was completely capable of completing the task himself.

This added a complication to his plan: trying to complete his task while also avoiding Snape.

Draco rubbed his forehead; all this was giving him a headache. He trudged upstairs to his bedroom and returned to his previously abandoned book.

Draco read for about an hour. Eventually, he began feeling extremely exhausted, and fell asleep with the book left open over his face.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

Chapter 3: The Excursion

Someone was knocking rather loudly on Draco's bedroom door. "Come on Draco, we have to go," Narcissa called through the door. "We have to get your schoolthings from Diagon Alley!"

Draco rolled over sleepily, and the book fell off of his face and onto the floor. "Can't it wait?" Draco said groggily.

"No! The train to Hogwarts leaves tomorrow!"

Suddenly, Draco was sitting perfectly upright on his bed. He had just remembered that he had to buy the necklace from Borgin and Burkes! He hurried to get ready.

"Coming, Mother!" Draco called as he pulled his trousers on. He hurriedly shoved the rest if his clothes on and stuffed his wand into his pocket. He practically ran downstairs.

Narcissa gave Draco a quizzical look as he burst into the kitchen. "Are you alright?" She asked him.

"Splendid!" Draco said enthusiastically. He stuffed a scone into his mouth and chugged a glass of orange juice. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Are we leaving now?"

Narcissa laughed. "Calm down! We'll leave in a minute."

Draco smiled at his mother. It had been so long since he had heard her laugh.

Soon enough, Narcissa had finished her breakfast. She and Draco flooed to Borgin and Burkes and reached there just as Borgin was opening his shop.

"Ah, Mrs. Malfoy and Master Malfoy. How are you?" Borgin said with a bow.

"Fine," Narcissa replied stiffly. She didn't like Borgin and Burkes very much.

"Will you be buying anything today?" Borgin asked hopefully.

"No," said Narcissa, but Draco cut in hurriedly.

"Maybe later," he said quickly, drawing an odd look from his mother. "Come, Mother, let's go to Madam Malkin's. I need new robes." Draco and Narcissa left the shop in a hurry.

At Madam Malkin's, Draco was unfortunate enough to come upon Potter and his gang. Potter really annoyed Draco when he popped up everywhere. Why did he have to be such an attention-seeker?

After leaving Madam Malkin's, Draco looked desperately at his watch. It was already noon, and his mother had said she wanted to leave at one o'clock. He needed to get to Borgin and Burke's fast- but without his mother.

In a split second of desperation, Draco suggested that his mother go shopping for some new clothes. "You've been wearing black all summer," he had told her while pushing her toward a shop. "Go buy something that's not black."

"Well, where are you going to be?" Narcissa asked hesitantly.

"I'll go buy my Potions ingredients. I'll meet you at the Leaky Cauldron at one!" Draco said, taking off toward Borgin and Burkes before his mother could stop him.

Draco opened the door to Borgin and Burkes slowly, checking to see if there were any other customers in the shop. Seeing there weren't, Draco entered the shop, setting off a small bell. Immediately, Borgin appeared behind the counter.

"Ah, Master Malfoy, you've come back. How may I help you?" Borgin said with a bow once again.

"Do you have the cursed necklace?" Draco demanded. He knew he had to be rough with Borgin to get anything from him.

"Uh," Borgin stammered. "Which one?"

Draco rolled his eyes. As if Borgin had so many cursed necklaces lying around! "The one that causes instant death," Draco said with a hint of annoyance. "It's in your display window?"

"Oh," Borgin said. He paused. "But, Master Malfoy, what do you need it for?"

"That," Draco growled, feeling irritated. "Is none of your business, Borgin."

"But, Master Malfoy, I'm not sure I should be going around selling cursed necklaces to underage wizards."

Draco was getting very ticked off. "Well, Borgin, I'm no ordinary underage wizard." Draco pulled up the left sleeve of his robe and showed Borgin the Dark Mark branded on it. Immediately, Borgin's attitude changed.

"Shall I wrap the necklace for you?" He said in a frightened tone. "And will you pay now?"

"I'll pay now, but I'll owl you to send me the necklace." Draco set a heavy bag of Galleons on the counter in front of Borgin, whose eyes lit up. "Oh, and I want you to keep that-" Draco pointed to the large cabinet, the Vanishing Cabinet, which was at the back of the store. "-safe for me."

"Why?" Asked Borgin curiously.

Annoyed, Draco explained about the passage between the Vanishing Cabinet in the store and the one at Hogwarts.

"...But, I need you to tell me how to fix the cabinet," said Draco in a menacing voice.

Borgin looked a bit skeptical. "Uh, I'm not sure how to fix it, Master Malfoy. You see..."

Draco slammed his fist on the counter. "You had better help me fix it," he said angrily. "Or the Dark Lord might just have to make you."

Borgin paled. "Alright, I'll try to help you."

"Try?"

"I will help you!" Borgin said in a tone of mingled fear and exasperation, throwing his arms up.

"Good," said Draco. "I'll send another owl when I want you to send me the instructions."

Then Draco turned on his heel and rushed toward the Apothecary to buy Potions ingredients, bumping into Potter and his gang, who had obviously been eavesdropping, on the way.

After buying a large box full of smelly herbs and magical creature body parts, Draco headed to the Leaky Cauldron to meet his mother. When he got there, his mother was waiting for him anxiously.

"What took so long?" Narcissa asked. She was holding a bag of clothes that looked like it was from one of the most posh stores in Diagon Alley. Draco mentally rolled his eyes. That was so typical of Mother. Even when she was being shunned from society, she still had to be the most stylish.

"Long line," Draco lied. "Anyway, let's go." Draco was desperate to get away from Diagon Alley where Potter could show up at any moment and start bombarding him with accusations and nosy questions.

Draco and Narcissa walked up to the fireplace inside of the Leaky Cauldron, payed Tom the bartender a Sickle each for Floo Powder, then flooed back to the Manor in a whirl of emerald green flames.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

Chapter 4: The Trip

Platform nine-and-three-quarters was extremely crowded as usual. From their secluded corner, Draco could make out the figures of some of his classmates in the hazy smoke from the scarlet Hogwarts Express.

Why was the train red, anyway? It was so...Gryffindor. All of Hogwarts was so Gryffindor. Everyone loved Gryffindor. And hated Slytherin.

Sometimes Draco wished he wasn't a Slytherin. If he wasn't a Slytherin, everybody wouldn't assume he was an arrogant pureblood. Well, he was, but only because everyone expected it of him. Especially his father.

A small part of Draco was glad his father was in Azkaban. Now he wouldn't have someone giving his a lecture every day about pureblood supremacy and why all muggles and muggle-borns should die.

But the larger part of Draco was proud to be a Death Eater. All those lectures had made Draco hate muggle-borns. Now he could show them who should be in charge.

The train whistle blew and Draco was snapped out of his thoughts. "Well, Mother, I guess I've got to go now," Draco said rather stiffly. He didn't feel like going. He didn't want to worry about his task all year and miss Quidditch and Hogsmeade trips and bullying first-years as a prefect.

The train whistle blew again.

Draco picked up his trunk.

"Draco, please be careful," Narcissa said. "Please, just..." She wrapped him in a hug, which Draco willingly returned. When Draco pulled away, he saw that his mother had tears in her eyes and trailing down her cheeks.

"Mother, please don't cry," Draco pleaded, wiping the tears off of Narcissa's face. "I promise, I'll be fine. I know what to do. I told you I have a plan." Draco lowered his voice. "I won't let him kill you." Draco kissed his mother's cheek and walked briskly toward the train.

Once inside the train, Draco headed toward the compartment that he and his fellow Slytherins always occupied. Crabbe, Goyle, Blaise, and Theodore Nott were already there.

"Hey," Draco said casually, heaving his trunk onto the luggage rack. He sat down onto a seat. "How was your summ-"

Draco was interrupted by a loud squeal. "Draco!" Shrieked a voice from the compartment door. "I've missed you!" Draco felt arms wrap around his shoulders..

Draco almost groaned out loud. It was Pansy. Honestly, Draco couldn't stand her, but he had been friends with her since they were little. Only thing was, she seemed to think that she was dating him. Seriously, you go to the Yule Ball with a girl, and suddenly she's your girlfriend for life.

"Hi, Pansy," Draco said, trying his best to sound enthusiastic. "How are you?"

"Fine," Pansy replied happily. "Oh, hello boys!"

The other boys in the compartment all grunted out their greetings.

Pansy put her trunk on the rack above her head, then plopped down next to Draco. "So," she said, leaning her head on his shoulder. She looked up at him through her eyelashes. "How have you been?"

Draco shrugged and looked up at Blaise, who was trying to restrain himself from laughing.

Pansy was not at all content with this reply. "Did anything interesting happen this summer?"

Draco shrugged again and stretched to put his hands behind his head, causing the sleeves of his robe to come down to his elbow, revealing his Dark Mark.

"Oh my gosh!" Pansy exclaimed, grabbing Draco's left arm. "When did this...?"

"A few weeks ago," Draco said in a casual tone. He glanced around at the other people in his compartment; they all seemed to be in awe.

"But you're only sixteen!" Exclaimed Blaise, looking shocked.

"So?" Draco asked, challenging Blaise.

"Sorry, mate, I just..."

"Why would the Dark Lord need you to become a Death Eater?" Pansy asked, sounding extremely concerned.

"Maybe he needs me for something," Draco said indifferently.

"What, though?"

Draco shrugged for the third time in the past ten minutes. He knew Pansy was getting annoyed with all the shrugging, but he didn't want to tell her about his task.

"Oh, Draco," Pansy sighed. She began running her fingers down Draco's arm, her hands nearing the Dark Mark, but never touching it. Draco desperately wanted her to get her hands off of him, but he couldn't do anything.

Just then, a small third-year boy entered the compartment holding a roll of parchment tied up with a purple ribbon. He handed it to Blaise, then hurried out of the compartment, obviously very intimidated by all the Slytherins around him. Draco rolled his eyes.

Blaise unrolled the parchment, read it, then stood up. "I've got to go," he said with an odd look on his face.

"Why?" Pansy asked, sounding sad.

Good, Draco thought, fall for Blaise, Pansy, good girl.

"I've been invited to lunch with Professor Horace Slughorn."

"Who?" Crabbe asked stupidly. "Is he a teacher?"

"No, Crabbe, he's the new caretaker," Draco said sarcastically.

"Oh," said Crabbe.

Draco laughed at Crabbe's stupidity. "Of course he's a teacher, you idiot!" Crabbed turned read and looked at his lap. Then, Blaise waved goodbye and left.

Somewhere in the hour that Blaise was gone, Pansy managed to get Draco's head in her lap and began stroking his hair. Draco made no attempts to get up, as Pansy was actually giving his head a nice massage. He lay there, listening to Pansy tell him a story about how her house-elf had ruined her tea one day, until Blaise returned.

"How was it?" Draco asked Blaise.

Blaise shrugged. "Okay, I guess. All he wanted to know about us was how are relatives were doing."

"Who else was there?"

"Uh...McLaggen, Longbottom, Potter, Ginny Weasley..."

Draco sat up. "Ginny Weasley? Why was she there? Because it sounds like everyone else who was there has some famous connection."

"I dunno," Blaise shrugged. Then, Pansy started talking about how a lot of boys liked Ginny, and asked Blaise if she would date Ginny. She seemed extremely pleased with his answer of, "no".

Draco lay back down on Pansy's lap. If only Pansy would date Blaise! Then she would leave him, Draco, alone!

"So, Draco," Theodore asked. "Are you going to be spending most of your time on that task?"

"I guess..."

And the conversation ensued.

After some time, the train reached Hogwarts. As everyone stood up and began leaving, Draco hung back.

"I'll catch up with you," Draco told Pansy, who was glancing at him over her shoulder. She left, but reluctantly.

Once everyone was gone, Draco proceeded to deal with Potter, who he had noticed eavesdropping, invisible, from the luggage rack.

"Hey, Potter," he snarled after putting him in a Full-Body-Bind. "Don't you know it's not polite to eavesdrop?" Draco stared at Harry straight in the eye. "Look, I don't really care that you heard our conversation," he said plainly. "But, it's very rude to go around poking your nose into other people's business." Draco promptly stomped on Potter's nose and heard a satisfying crunch. "And that was from my father."

Throwing the Invisibility Cloak over Harry, Draco left the compartment. He walked through the train then hopped off of it and onto the platform, where Pansy and the other Slytherins were waiting for him.

"What were you doing?" Pansy asked him curiously.

Draco smirked. "Teaching Potter a lesson." He began walking toward the carriages, then turned over his shoulder to look at his fellow Slytherins. "Come on. I'll tell you all about it at the feast."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

Chapter 5: The First Day

Draco felt much better after he had taken out his frustration and anger on Potter. Getting to break Potter's nose made the start-of-term feast much more enjoyable as he had a great story to tell the Slytherins, and he could mock Potter about his nose all through dinner.

The low of the feast was having to listen to Dumbledore's speech which was all about the Dark Lord. The Dark Lord was someone Draco did not want to think about right now. For all he knew, the Dark Lord could be torturing his mother right now...not likely, but probable.

Feeling quite elated after the hearty meal, Draco descended to the Slytherin common room with the rest of his house after the feast. Once inside the common room, Draco felt quite at home. The eerie green light enveloped him like a hug, and the hum of conversation made him feel happy. He lowered himself onto one of the silken green couches near the fireplace, laying his head back and closing his eyes as he let the fire's heat warm him up. Pansy sat next to him, quite close to him, and began chattering to her gang of girls. Draco desperately wanted to move away from Pansy, but thought it best not to upset her, have her owl her parents, who would in turn owl his mother, who would then be disappointed in Draco for not being polite.

Draco didn't want his Mother to feel worse about him. She was already quite upset about him becoming a Death Eater, and he didn't want her to have any more reasons to be distressed

Doing his best to ignore Pansy, Draco watched Theodore and Blaise pay a game of Wizard's Chess; Theo was winning. Crabbe and Goyle were trying to open a packet of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans with poor results. Meanwhile, Pansy and her friends were busy discussing Professor Snape's new position as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.

Draco was honestly surprised to find out that Severus had been given the DADA position. After so many years, Dumbledore had finally given it to him. Why? It was rather odd.

After and hour of sitting by the fire, Draco decided to go to bed. Muttering a good bye to Pansy and her friends, Draco headed to his dorm, magically opening the pack of Every Flavor Beans that Crabbe was holding on his way. Crabbe and Goyle, who didn't realize that Draco had opened the box, seemed extremely pleased with themselves. Draco chuckled softly to himself as he opened the door to the dormitory.

Draco sighed as he collapsed onto his bed. He had changed into his black silk pajamas, and was ready to fall asleep. However, just then the rest of the boys in his dorm entered. Draco rolled over and pressed his face into his pillow. It was impossible to sleep when Crabbe and Goyle were stuffing their faces with sweets and chewing rather loudly.

Eventually, Draco did fall asleep, but it took him a while. All he could think about was his task. How long would it take him? How difficult would it be? And where was the Vanishing Cabinet? He knew it was in the same room that Potter and his gang had their secret Defense lessons last year, but that room could become so many things...

Finally, Draco had just closed his mind off completely, then drifted off to sleep. His sleep was dreamless and quite restful that night.

The next morning, Draco woke up first in his dormitory. He rolled out of bed and changed into his robes, then headed down to the common room. Nobody else was there. Draco yawned and pulled a book off of the table in front of the fireplace that someone had left behind last night, and began to read. It was a boring yet intriguing book. He only put the book down when Blaise, Theodore, Crabbe, and Goyle all came into the common room, and they all headed to breakfast together.

Breakfast felt rather rushed that morning; Professor Snape kept swooping down on the Slytherins, handing out their schedules. Draco's schedule was simply dropped next to his plate with a slight nod, but the Head of House had a long discussion with Crabbe and Goyle about how he didn't think either of them were worthy of being in any N.E.W.T. classes at all (their O.W.L. scores had been horrible, to nobody's surprise).

Once Snape had swooped away, Draco, Blaise, and Theo took great pleasure in taunting Crabbe and Goyle, who were quite frustrated.

After the teasing had ceased, Draco looked down at his class schedule. He had made it to the N.E.W.T. level in all of his classes, except Care of Magical Creatures, so he was rather proud. He didn't care about Hagrid's stupid class anyway. He hoped, that once his father was out of Azkaban, his father would be proud of this accomplishment as well.

Draco's schedule for the day was quite boring. He read the list:

Transfiguration

Defense Against the Dark Arts

Herbology

Break

Ancient Runes

Charms

Free Period

Lunch

Astronomy

Free Period

Potions

Draco had dropped History of Magic and Care of Magical Creatures, the two classes he truly hated.

Stuffing his toast in his mouth, Draco chewed and swallowed, then looked at his friends' schedules.

"Great! We've got almost everything together!" Blaise said cheerfully to Draco and Theodore. "Let's go to Transfiguration then?"

Draco nodded, then stood up and swung his bag over his shoulder. The three boys headed toward the Transfiguration classroom, talking quietly amongst themselves.

"D'you reckon this year'll be a lot harder?" Theo asked.

"Definitely," Draco mumbled darkly.

"Can you believe Snape's teaching Defense?"

Draco shrugged. "He's been asking for the job forever."

"Yeah, but..." Theo trailed off. They had reached the classroom, and Professor McGonagall was looking at them sternly. They slumped off to sit at a table in the back of the room.

Class started soon, and it began with a long lecture from McGonagall about how difficult her class was going to become this year. Then, she started them on a review of transfiguring animals. This proved to be difficult after two months of not practicing. However, by the end of the lesson, Draco had managed to turn his rabbit into a top hat. He was the only one in the class who did.

"Well," Professor McGonagall said sharply. "I guess you're all a bit rusty, so..." Then she proceeded to give them at least two hours of homework. Draco groaned and wondered when he would be able to work on his task if all his teachers gave them so much work.

Next, Draco, Blaise and Theo had Defense Against the Dark Arts, for the first time with Professor Snape.

As soon as they entered the classroom, Draco saw how Snape-like the room had become. The walls were covered with grotesque pictures that had once covered the walls of Snape's home study. Draco noticed Snape looking at him and smirked, gesturing to the pictures. Snape smirked back.

Like McGonagall, Snape started the class with a speech on how difficult N.E.W.T level would be. Then, he had them practice nonverbal spells.

This was extremely easy for Draco as Snape had taught him these last year. Bellatrix had also coached Draco on them over the summer. Draco found Theo and Blaise's attempts at silently jinxing him quite amusing.

After class, the Slytherin trio headed to Herbology, then they had break. During break, Draco headed to the seventh-floor corridor and tried to get the Room of Requirement to become the room that housed the Vanishing Cabinet. However, Draco found this very difficult because he had to do this while no other students were around, a condition rarely encountered in the halls of Hogwarts.

Finally, Draco gave up, vowing to come back later. Then, Draco headed to Ancient Runes, then Charms, and then he had his first Free Period. He used this time to work on his homework, whose amount had been increasing steadily as the day went on.

After completing a fair amount of him homework, Draco headed to lunch, then Astronomy, and then, during his second Free Period, to the seventh-floor corridor. Now, nobody was in the corridors, and Draco could continue his attempt to find the correct room.

Draco stood in front of the wall across from the tapestry, then began pacing in front of it.

I need the room that Montague was shoved in... he thought. I need the room that Montague was shoved in...

Nothing.

I need the room that has the Vanishing Cabinet in it...

Still nothing.

Draco tried for half an hour before stumbling upon the right thought.

I need the room that contains hidden things...

Finally, a door appeared in the stone wall, but just as Draco was about to open it, the bell rang.

"Ugh," Draco groaned as he picked up his bag and raced down to the dungeons

Once he reached the classroom, Draco met Blaise and Theo, who had both made the N.E.W.T. level of Potions

"Wonder what Slughorn'll be like," Theo muttered to Blaise and Draco.

"He was nice enough," Blaise said as they waited for Slughorn outside the dungeon door.

Draco frowned as he saw that Potter, Weasley, and Granger walking toward the classroom. Draco wasn't surprised that Granger had gotten in, the insufferable know-it-all, but Potter and Weasley? They had both always been awful at Potions!

Finally, Slughorn opened the door, and the class filed inside. Slughorn greeted Blaise very enthusiastically, and Draco nudged and smirked at Blaise once they had sat down. Blaise looked smug.

"Now I've got an advantage over you in Potions, " he whispered. "The teacher likes me more than he likes you!"

Draco rolled his eyes, then turned to the front of the classroom.

Slughorn, who Draco thought extremely overweight, began asking the class about the potions within the row of cauldrons at the front of the room. Granger told him the name and gave a description of each one to Slughorn in that annoying way of hers.

Slughorn was quite impressed with Granger, and, much to Draco's astonishment, asked if she was related to a famous Potioneer. Granger, extremely flustered, had told him that she was a muggle-born.

"What?" Draco whispered to Theo. "He couldn't smell her dirty blood? What kind of a Slytherin is he?"

Theo sniggered.

FInally, Slughorn stopped questioning Granger, and began telling the class about the love potion she had identified for him.

"...it's possibly the most dangerous potion in this room," Slughorn was saying.

Draco smirked at Theo and Blaise. Love? Dangerous? How?

Slughorn saw their faces and told them off. "Yes, love, obsessive love is dangerous, boys."

Draco almost rolled his eyes.

Then, Slughorn began asking about the potion in the last cauldron, which he said was callled Felix Felicis. Granger, of course, answered him.

"It's liquid luck!" She said excitedly.

"Yes!" Slughorn said. "Two tablespoons with breakfast will grant you with a perfect day! And, one of you will get some Felix if you correctly brew the Draught of Living Death for me today. You'll find the instructions on page ten. Begin!"

Draco sat up straight immediately, eager to start making his potion. He began flipping through his textbook, gathering his ingredients, and making the potion.

"Eager, aren't we?" Blaise chuckled. Draco merely nodded. He needed that lucky day! Then, he would be able to complete his task!

After about ten minutes, Draco could see that his potion wasn't going very well. This was odd; Draco was usually very good at Potions, and he was following the instructions exactly. He decided it was time for desperate measures. He needed to kiss up to the teacher.

"Professor Slughorn?" He asked as the Slughorn neared his table. "I think you knew my grandfather, Abraxas Malfoy?"

Much to Draco's frustration, Slughorn only mumbled a small acknowledgement, then walked away. Blaise smirked at Draco, who scowled at him.

"Well, it was worth a try," Draco told Blaise. "And besides, it doesn't look like your potion is turning out correctly, either." Draco looked around the room. Nobody's potion seemed to match the book's description, not even Granger's. The only person whose did was...Potter.

Draco became even more annoyed. Potter had never, ever been good at Potions, so why was he starting now? When Draco needed to show his own talent?

Potter got the Felix. Blaise and Theo were astonished as well.

"Potter? Good at Potions? Have we traveled into a parallel universe?" Theo exclaimed as they walked to the common room.

"I know, right?" Draco said. "Since when?"

"Well, he is a teacher's pet now," Blaise said.

"Well, so are you!" Theo said. "And your potion didn't work either!"

"Right," said Blaise. "I dunno then."

"You know what I think?" Asked Theo. "I think Potter must have Imperiused Slughorn!"

"Please," Draco interrupted. "Saint Potter, corrupt a teacher? If that happens, I'll shave my head."

Blaise laughed. "You wouldn't!"

Draco smirked. "Of course not. Because I won't have to."

"Maybe Granger helped him," Theo speculated.

"Yeah, like she'd help him and not do her own work correctly," Blaise said.

Draco snorted. "As if. The insufferable know-it-all."

Blaise and Theo laughed as Draco began thinking about what Theo had said earlier about Imperiusing someone. Maybe he could Imperius someone to help him with his task! Draco filed the idea away in his mind for later. Right now, he just wanted to head to the common room, finish his homework, and have some fun with his friends.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

Chapter 6: The First Attempt

For the next couple of weeks, Draco had somehow managed to push his task out of his mind. But by the end of the blissful, two-week period, Draco was rudely reminded of the job at hand.

After Defense Against the Dark Arts one Friday, Snape had held Draco back after class.

"Draco," he said softly. "I hope you are working on things other than finding out whether or not Miss Parkinson has a crush on Mr. Zabini."

Draco was quite taken aback. Had Snape been spying on him? "Yes, sir," Draco responded stiffly. "I'll...start working on it soon."

"You had better." Snape turned his back to Draco with a swish of his cloak and sat down at his desk. "You may go, Draco."

"Yes, sir," Draco said again. Feeling unnerved, he hurried off to catch up with Theo on the way to Herbology.

"What did he want?" Theo asked curiously.

"Nothing," Draco said, waving off the question. Theo raised an eyebrow. "He...erm...wanted to remind me to train hard for Quidditch. He's...upset about losing again."

Theo seemed to believe this explanation. "You'd better. I'd hate to see us lose to the Gryffindors again."

In Herbology, Draco and Theo spent the period thinking up ways to get Pansy away from Draco.

"We could tell her you have Dragon Pox."

"Nah, she'd just feel bad for me. Anyway, why would I be at school if I had Dragon Pox?"

"Good point... Maybe you could get Blaise to give her some love potion...maybe disguise it in a bottle of butterbeer."

"Blaise would never!"

"Yeah, you're right..."

This conversation carried on through most of the day, Blaise getting involved during Charms.

"You're trying to get Pansy to like me? Some friends you are."

"Not necessarily you, Blaise. We just need her to stop drooling all over Draco."

"Well...you could try to convince her that Crabbe is quite attractive and that all that fat is muscle..."

Draco and Theo burst out laughing at this as Blaise grinned. Draco was laughing so hard that he almost didn't notice the bell ring.

"Free Period next," Blaise said in an over-excited voice that sounded quite like Granger's. "Oh, I can't wait to get started on all my homework!"

Draco snorted at the impersonation, then stopped himself rather abruptly. Snape's 'reminder' flashed in his mind. Free Period was longer than Break...

"Um, I'll meet you there in an hour," Draco said to Blaise and Theo, starting to walk away.

"Where're you going?" Blaise called after him.

Draco stopped in his tracks. He needed a cover story. "Uh, the library. I, uh... need to pick up a book." He started hurrying away to the seventh floor.

"Library's the other way!" Theo called out to him.

"Right," Draco said, turning on his heel and heading in the other direction.

I'll just have to come up with a better cover story next time, thought Draco as he climbed up another flight of stairs. That way I won't have to walk so much.

Finally, he reached the tapestry, and he immediately began pacing in front of the wall across from it.

I need the room of hidden things...I need the room of hidden things...

After he had passed by the wall three times, he looked up. A door had appeared on it.

Draco quickly opened it and stepped into the Room of Requirement, which was currently full of rows and rows of shelves piled with random things. Behind a large clump of shelves, Draco could just make out a large cabinet.

"There you are," he muttered under his breath, heading toward it.

The cabinet was very large and looked very old. Draco reached for one of the handles and pulled it open. A cloud of dust flew out, causing Draco to cough and his eyes to water.

After the dust had settled, Draco peered into the cabinet, his eyes still stinging.

Immediately, his heart sank. The entire back of the closet was completely damaged, and so was part of the bottom. Boards and nails were sticking out, and Draco could tell that the faint green glow coming from the large hole in the back of the cabinet was not a good sign.

What had Montague done while he was stuck inside the Vanishing Cabinet? Create a small tornado?

Draco rubbed his forehead with his fingers. How was he supposed to fix this? He rolled up his sleeves and pulled out his wand.

"Reparo," he muttered, his wand aimed at the cabinet. The cabinet shuddered, and a few cracks on the sides sealed themselves. But other than that, nothing happened.

He should have known it wouldn't have been easy.

Draco began prodding the boards inside the cabinet with his wand, trying to poke them back into place. They moved, but instead of settling back into the cabinet, they fell off completely.

"Ugh," Draco groaned. He had no idea how to fix this. Not a clue. And he didn't think Borgin was going to be much help, either.

But Borgin was his only source of information on the Vanishing Cabinet.

Sighing, Draco pulled out a scrap of parchment and a quill from his bag and began making a list of what appeared to be wrong with the cabinet to send to Borgin. It was a rather long list. After half an hour, Draco heard his stomach growl.

I need food, Draco thought. He began looking around eagerly for a plate of chicken, remembering that the room would provide him with anything he needed. Nothing. Of course. The room couldn't produce food out of thin air. It was magically impossible.

Just then, the bell rang from somewhere outside the room. Draco stuffed the book inside his bag and got to his feet.

He was completely lost in his thoughts as he headed down to the Great Hall for lunch. He was so lost, in fact, that he almost crashed into Blaise and Theo on his way to the Slytherin table.

"Whoa, there, mate," Blaise laughed as Draco swerved around him then turned to face him. "You okay?"

"What? I'm fine," Draco muttered as he sat down. But as soon as he had taken a seat, he immediately regretted it.

Pansy Parkinson was sitting directly to his right. "Hi, Draco!" She chirped. "Where were you during free period? I missed you!"

Draco almost rolled his eyes and buried his head in his hands, but he didn't. "Hello, Pansy," he sighed. He looked across the table at Theo, who grinned at him and jerked his head toward Blaise. Draco smirked.

"I had to go to the library," he said. "But I'm sure Blaise's company was just great, right?"

Theo had to stuff a slice of bread in his mouth to keep himself from laughing. Blaise, meanwhile, was glaring at Draco gripping his knife tightly in his right hand.

"Well, yes," said Pansy, looking crestfallen. "But..."

"I'm sure you two had a lovely time," Draco cut her off. "Anyway, Theo, how was the Transfiguration homework?"

Theo looked taken aback for a moment, then realized that Draco was trying to steer away from having to have a conversation with Pansy. "Quite difficult, actually," He said, still trying not to laugh, his face turning red as Pansy lay her head on Draco's shoulder. "But what I really want to know is how to Transfigure a person into thin air," continued Theo with a rather obvious glance at Pansy. Theo always found it very annoying when Pansy hung around them.

Pansy was just about to open her mouth when Draco stood up abruptly.

"Well, I have to go down to the common room to finish my Astronomy homework. Erm, Theo, you're coming right?"

Yes," said Theo after a few seconds, still glaring at Pansy. "Let's go. Blaise? You coming?"

Blaise shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Uh, I think I'll stay here. I'm, er, not done eating yet."

Draco glanced sideways at Theo, who was looking at Blaise with a funny expression on his face.

"Okay," Theo said slowly, then he and Draco headed down to the common room.

"You know what?" Theo said as they headed for the dungeons. "I think Blaise might actually like Pansy."

"Really?" Said Draco happily. "That's great!"

A mischievous smile was creeping onto Theo's face. "Now all I have to do is get him to admit it..."

Draco laughed out loud.

"How?" He asked after they had picked up their Astronomy books from the dormitory and started to headed for the Astronomy Tower.

"I have my ways," Theo said simply as they reached the tower. "I'll get him to tell us all his secrets."

Draco just shook his head and chuckled to himself as he wondered if any person could be more of a Slytherin than Theodore Nott.


End file.
